Tip the Scale
by juniorvarsity
Summary: A good ninja learns to find peace through finding a balance in his life. But no one ever said it would be easy - or fair. It's about time someone taught Hunter Bradley this. Slash. Eventually.
1. Anywhere Else But Here

**Tip the Scale Chapter 01: Anywhere Else But Here**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the Rangers and I don't own the song 'Anywhere Else But Here' - Saban and Simple Plan own them respectively.**  
**

**Author's Note:** Hello, PR fandom! It has been a long time since I last wrote anything for PR. I believe the last time I touched this fandom with my own writing was while Ninja Storm was playing new episodes every week. It's been a long time, but I am finally ready to get back into action with, hopefully, much better writing than I did back in the day. Special thank you to **Rebel Paisley **for inspiring me to get my butt back into gear with her story, _Any Moment_. If you haven't read that yet, I suggest you do. It is absolutely fabulous. **  
**

This story takes place after Return of Thunder and will follow the rest of the season's storylines as far as major happenings.

Happy Reading!

* * *

Fair. This was a word that Hunter Bradley threw out of his vocabulary early on in his young life. He had to. If he didn't, he would be stuck wallowing in whatever bitterness and self-pity he harbored over every bad thing that happened to him and his younger brother Blake – and frankly, there were more bad things than Hunter could count. And if he got stuck wallowing in his own misery, he wouldn't be able to take care of neither himself nor Blake and the Bradley brothers would be totally and completely screwed. Again. There were already too many different people and things screwing the Bradleys over; Hunter didn't need to contribute to the party.

Okay. So maybe he did harbor a bit of resentment towards…everything. But he couldn't afford to think too much about 'fair.' And he definitely didn't have the luxury of trusting others. He'd foolishly trusted Lothor and look where _that _got him and Blake. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

So that was why Hunter Bradley found himself standing in front of Storm Chargers, his heart pounding in his chest.

After the whole, "Agreeing-to-be-Power-Rangers" situation, he and Blake needed a place to stay and, despite the fact that the Bradley brothers didn't have much money to their names, Hunter forcefully declined Sensei's offer to stay at Ninja Ops and went on the apartment search. He'd been taking care of himself and Blake for ten years; the last thing the older Thunder wanted was to be someone's charity case. He could handle it. He always handled it.

Hunter, being a natural older brother, had never let Blake know over the years how much money they actually had. Blake wasn't spoiled – no, their parents hadn't left enough money behind for that – but he wasn't deprived. Hunter made sure of it. The brothers had found an apartment on the outskirts of Blue Bay Harbor, in an admittedly not-so-great-but-not-too-terrible neighborhood. While he had sent Blake to school with the others, giving Tori instructions to help his brother enroll in the public high school (after convincing Blake that the apartment deal would come through, no problem), the 19-year-old went to the landlady's office, armed with their sob story and half of their savings - in cash - to cover the first few months of rent. It must have been convincing because the landlady of the half furnished one-bedroom apartment consented without too much hesitation. Words would never be able to express the immense gratitude he felt when the landlady nodded her head in assent.

And now, here he was, praying none of the Winds or Blake would happen to come by. They probably wouldn't, Hunter reasoned with himself. They were all in school and Cam never left Ninja Ops. With another sigh of relief at this revelation, Hunter thanked every being out there that he was older than the rest and had graduated a year prior, before the Thunder Academy had been attacked. Hunter was a very proud person, something Blake often pointed out as a flaw, and the last thing the Crimson Ranger wanted was for everyone to see him begging Kelly for more hours. He needed more hours to keep himself and Blake - but most importantly Blake - in an apartment with clothes on their backs and food in their mouths.

"Hunter!"

The blond visibly jumped, mentally cursing as he heard his boss – speak of the devil – call his name. Schooling his face into his neutral scowl, Hunter turned around, "Hey Kelly."

"What are you doing here?" the petite woman asked, glancing at the clock as she shifted the box in her arms. "You're…four hours early for your shift."

"I know. I…uh…" It was now or never. "Can I talk to you for a second…in private?"

Kelly immediately went from confused to concerned. "Yes of course. Is everything okay?"

Hunter just shrugged, tilting his head towards the back. He couldn't ask her here, even if there were only one or two people milling about the store. Kelly got the hint, though, and motioned for Hunter to follow her through the store to the back room and into her makeshift office. Once they were inside, Kelly set the box down on the ground and sat down at the chair behind the desk, waving her hand for Hunter to take a seat. When he didn't move from his place by the door, Kelly only raised an eyebrow.

"So…" Hunter began uncomfortably, hands unconsciously curling into fists around the edges of the sleeves on his shirt, "Um…well, Blake and I…well you know we were adopted when we were younger and…" Hunter took in a deep breath. He had to do this, he kept telling himself. For Blake.

Hunter looked up at Kelly, who was frowning in concern. He let out a breath, eyes turning towards the ceiling, "Look. I hate to ask this of you, especially if you don't have any to give me, but I need more hours."

Kelly's eyebrows flew up. That was the last thing she'd expected of her newest employee. Hunter looked more uncomfortable than Kelly had ever seen him in the short few weeks she'd known him – and that included when he apologized for flaking on her.

"Hunter…" Kelly began gently, unsure of how to tell Hunter that she couldn't put more hours in for a stock boy. She had a long-time employee working during the day and couldn't cut his hours for Hunter.

"I know," Hunter interrupted. "I know things are a bit tight, but…the thing is…I'm all Blake has." He said bluntly, deciding that his pride needed to take a back seat - if only for the next few moments.

Before Kelly's look of surprise could fade away, Hunter continued, "Our parents died when we were younger. We lived with…family friends for several years, but they can't take care of us anymore. I'm 19 now and I'm Blake's legal guardian. We just found this apartment and I've been saving up for years and we have enough to cover a few month's rent, but I after that…I just don't know what we'll do and I just…I need to be able to support both of us. And I…I _can't _let Blake know how much trouble we'll be in if I can't find a way to make more money. He has to focus on finishing school and his motocross and I don't want him to be worrying about this at all."

Hunter had never been one to beg, but his voice had reached as close to pleading as he could muster.

There was a moment of silence. Kelly studied the teen before her; he looked so much older than 19 now. She'd never known about their family life; Kelly never pried any of her employees on their personal lives if she could help it.

"Well, I don't have any stock boy positions available during the day," Kelly repeated. "But I guess I _could _use an extra hand up front. I usually man the morning shift and it would be nice to be able to focus on other things during the day…"

Hunter's eyes brightened up considerably, although he would probably never admit it.

"Why don't you come in tomorrow morning? I'll get payroll set up today and we can start you on training tomorrow. You'll come in everyday during the week for your cashier shift and then switch over to stocking in the afternoon. And you're still good for your racing obligations and your weekend shifts, right? I can't afford to pay you more hourly than you already get, though."

But Hunter didn't care. He was nodding his head already. "You got it, Kel. Thank you. Seriously. Thank you."

Kelly gave the blond a smile, shaking her head, "It's the least I can do. You're a good brother, Hunter." At Hunter's blush - that he tried to hide with a scowl, of course - Kelly laughed, waving her hand towards the door. "Now, get out of here. You just signed on for a full time gig so you better enjoy the rest of your last free day. See you this afternoon."

Hunter nodded and quickly left the shop, unable to stop the smile that was threatening to break over his face. Things seemed to be falling into place. His natural instinct was telling him that it all seemed too easy, but Hunter would take it for now. He had plenty of time to be skeptical about their good fortune later.

* * *

"Hunter? Bro?" Blake called out, shifting the helmet in his arms so he could fish for the keys that he swore he put in his pocket right after Hunter gave them to him while they were at Storm Chargers earlier in the afternoon. Where did he put them? Hunter was going to kill him if he lost them after just five hours of having them.

Just as his fingers touched the cool metal of the keys in, what seemed like, the deepest depths of his pockets, the door to their new apartment swung open to reveal Hunter wearing his signature smirk.

"Lost your keys already?"

Blake rolled his eyes in exasperation, "No! I just...couldn't find them for a bit."

Hunter just snorted in disbelief, stepping back to allow Blake entrance. He shut and locked their flimsy excuse for a door and bit his lip in anticipation as his younger brother's eyes widened in surprise.

After their shift at Storm Chargers, all the Rangers checked in quickly with Cam at Ops. The technician liked to see for himself that the teenagers were alive and well each day. Hunter couldn't exactly blame him. After all, they all partook in sports categorized under "extreme" on a daily basis. Once Cam was satisfied with the Rangers' physical well-being, Dustin had suggested grabbing a slice of pizza before the group went their separate ways for the night. Blake had readily agreed, but Hunter politely declined, claiming he had "some things to take care of."

It was met with skepticism from all parties involved, but Hunter ignored it and turned to leave Ninja Ops after giving Blake instructions to be home at a reasonable hour; he had school in the morning. The older Thunder could practically hear Blake rolling his eyes at his retreating back while the others snickered at the Navy Ranger's expense.

Nevertheless, Hunter didn't give in. He quickly went back to the apartment to finish what he'd started working on earlier in the day. He'd gone to a hardware store and bought some supplies to make their apartment a little less like a hole in the wall and more like a home. Hunter put up a curtain divider in the living room to create a second bedroom; there was only one "real" bedroom and Hunter had deemed it Blake's room. He'd also built a coffee table out of scrap pieces of wood. It still needed to be painted, but Hunter figured all of that could be taken care of over time.

"Do you like it?" Hunter asked nervously. Blake was probably the only person whose opinions the Crimson Ranger cared deeply about.

Blake whirled back around to look at his older brother, shock clearly spelled across his face, "How did you...where did you..."

"The hardware store and the Internet. It's crazy the kind of things you can find." Hunter replied nonchalantly, though inside he was bursting with pride.

Blake nodded, but Hunter didn't really think he was listening. He had that scrunched up look on his face - the one where Hunter knew he was thinking too hard. The Navy Ranger dropped his helmet and backpack on the futon carelessly on his way through the apartment, inspecting everything Hunter had done.

Luckily, the apartment was partially furnished with bedroom furniture, save for a mattress, and all appliances. Although Hunter suspected the appliances hadn't been updated for the past ten years, he couldn't say he minded since they were all in working order. Hunter had also gone to a library to use the Internet to find used furniture. He was able to get a futon for the living room and two mattresses for his and Blake's room. The Bradly brothers were accustom to living practically on top of each other, so the small one-bedroom apartment was more than enough space for the two of them and their sparse belongings.

"You should check out your room. The walls kind of suck, but I figured I'd leave that up to you."

Blake frowned when he realized Hunter was indicating the room with the real door. But before he could say anything, Hunter cut in, "Don't. I want you to have that room. You have more stuff anyway, you diva."

"I do not!" Blake immediately shot back, fighting the grin off of his face.

Hunter merely raised an eyebrow at him before going to his new "room" to get ready for bed. It wasn't all that bad, Hunter decided as he looked around. The crimson curtain wrapped around 2 sides and he had picked a corner wall to enclose the rest of the makeshift bedroom. It wasn't much in the way of sound-proofing, but Hunter wasn't concerned with that.

"You could've let me help you, you know."

Hunter jumped at the sound of Blake's voice, silently cursing at himself for not being more aware of his surroundings. He turned around and tired to glare at his younger brother, "Knock much?"

Blake snorted in response, "On what? This is a curtain, bro."

"Whatever." Hunter muttered, flopping back on the mattress on the floor.

"Seriously, Hunter." Blake said, sitting down gingerly on the carpeted floor next to the mattress. "You didn't have to do all of it by yourself."

"I didn't." Hunter protested, "You still have your room to fix up and when we do groceries after work tomorrow, you're putting them away."

Blake rolled his eyes. Hunter didn't see it, but he knew the navy-clad teen was staring at him with an exasperated expression.

Hunter sat up and looked at Blake as earnestly as he could, "Seriously, dude. It's cool. You were at school and I wanted to do something with the place if we're gonna...you know, be sticking around for...whatever amount of time."

Blake gave his brother an even stare and Hunter knew exactly what he was doing. He glared right back at Blake. There was silence between the Bradleys for several minutes before Hunter finally burst.

"Look, all I'm saying is that Lothor is one hell of an evil space ninja. We saw what he was capable of when we lived on that goddamned ship! I'm just..._saying _that we might, you know, be Rangers for awhile. So we should have a place that isn't a _total _dump, you know? I put you in school so I might as well give you like...a place to call...home...and stuff." Hunter finished lamely, looking away from Blake. He and Blake loved each other and they meant everything to the other. But it was something that was always implied, not said. And it made Hunter uncomfortable every time emotions were brought up. Blake once joked that he could see Hunter trying to crawl out of his own skin whenever emotions were in question.

Hunter knew Blake was giving him _that _look right now. The all-knowing-I-know-what-you're-trying-to-do look. And Hunter really, _really _did not want to see it. So instead, he reached over to his suitcase that contained all of his personal belongings and pretended to look for something in it.

It wasn't until Blake reached over and put a hand on his shoulder that the Crimson Ranger stopped what he was doing. He glanced up at his brother, who had thankfully wiped that look off of his face.

"Thanks." Blake said simply, offering a smile.

Hunter nodded in return. He had a feeling Blake wasn't done.

And he was right.

"You know," the Navy Ranger went on as predicted. "You're right. It might take awhile to take Lothor and his goons down. And, you know..." Blake pause for a moment, thinking about how to phrase his next thought. He knew, from experience, how incredibly difficult it was for Hunter to socialize. "You know, we've gotta work with the Winds and Cam to beat Lothor. And, really bro, they're not that bad. I actually...I really like them. And you will too if you just...give them a chance, you know?"

Hunter shrugged in response. He knew Blake was going to get on his case about this. It was the reason a part of Hunter desperately wanted to leave Blue Bay Harbor behind after the whole sinking island ordeal. It was one thing to operate as a team with Blake; he knew Blake. He trusted Blake. But add in three other Rangers and their tech guy? Hunter felt uneasy about it. Still - and he supposed this was part of the reason Sensei Wantanbe felt they would be good Power Rangers - Hunter couldn't deny the sense of duty he felt when he realized the kind of power he and Blake had. Not to mention the burning desire for revenge on Lothor. That helped too.

"I'm just saying," Blake said, standing up after a final pat to Hunter's shoulder. "Think about it."

With that, the Navy Ranger left, leaving Hunter alone with his thoughts - which, really, wasn't an ideal situation. Hunter was already feeling a bit on edge. He hadn't had much time to process what was happening. Once they got off of the sinking island and the Bradleys had agreed to stay in Blue Bay Harbor to help defeat Lothor, Hunter poured all of his energy into getting both himself and Blake situated in Blue Bay. Now that Blake was enrolled in school and they had an apartment with a way to - hopefully - keep up with rent payments, Hunter had nothing else to pre-occupy his mind.

"Fuck." The Crimson Ranger cursed, tossing his duffel bag aside and put his head in his hands. He knew the others took his apology at face value; they accepted it and they accepted him. But that was it. They didn't like him, that he was sure of.

Blake was always better at making friends, even when they were younger. Every time their mom would bring the boys to the park after school, Blake was the one who ran off to greet gaggles of peers while Hunter would hang back until Blake pulled him into the group. It was always like that, even after they started Ninja training, but Hunter never minded. It afforded him the ability to keep a better eye on his younger brother, an instinct that had always been a part of Hunter.

The Bradleys had adopted Hunter five years after they'd adopted Blake, who had been taken in just a few months after birth. Hunter hated the family at first. He was sure that they would give him away, just like the others.

When Hunter was three, he had been taken away from his birth parents; they were drug addicts guilty of neglect. Though Hunter had managed to get away without physical scars, the young toddler was forever burned with the idea that he didn't deserve to be loved. This idea was consistently upheld by the two foster families he'd had over the following two years; both families had sent him back to the orphanage with the social workers after just a few months with the little boy. They'd been hoping to adopt an infant, but had decided to "try" Hunter out, as though he was a car on lease. Neither family was prepared to take care of and raise a little toddler who came with so many emotional scars.

Enter Casey and Jake Bradley.

On Blake's third birthday, the unknowing toddler asked for a brother to play with. After talking it out, Casey and Jake agreed that Blake could probably use a sibling. The couple wasn't able to conceive, but loved children, so a month later, Casey and Jake contacted the adoption agency that had helped them find Blake and asked if there were any little boys they could take in. They had talked seriously about it and figured that a toddler would be ideal. They wanted the boys to be able to play together and grow up together, like twins. The social worker they had been in touch with came back with several profiles. Hunter's story called out to them.

The social worker had explained, upon inquiry, that Hunter was a sweet boy, but was never well-socialized after his birth parents conveniently forgot about the toddler for days at a time. The foster homes he had been in temporarily were not perfect fits - they had been new parents who had no ideas on how to raise a little boy who already had so much baggage. Casey turned to Jake, who was already nodding his head. They would meet five-year-old Hunter.

A month later, Hunter's small backpack of his only possessions - a few outfits and his crimson security blanket - was packed and the blond was telling one of the counselors matter-of-factly that he would probably be back soon before turning to Casey and Jake with a bored sounding, "I'm ready to go now."

It broke the Bradleys' hearts.

It was six months into Hunter's residence with the Bradleys (a tough six months filled with temper tantrums from Blake, slammed doors from Hunter and undying effort from Casey and Jake) when Hunter finally began to believe that he could call the Bradleys and Blake his family. He had fallen out of the tree in the backyard during one of his pouting sessions (he didn't perfect the art of brooding until much later on), landing with a distinctive _thud _and an excruciating pain shooting up his arm. The next thing Hunter could remember was a very upset Blake standing over him with watery eyes.

Hunter let out a whimper of pain and his new younger brother immediately took off, hysterically crying to their parents to "come quick" because Hunter was "almost dead" and they _had _to save him before he lost his big brother. It was that exact moment that Hunter realized he had a real family – and they loved him. Hunter distinctly remembered thinking that _finally_, the world was fair again.

Hunter swallowed thickly against the lump in his throat at the memory of his parents. Just seven short years later, his mom and dad were unceremoniously ripped from his and Blake's grasps. How was _that _fair? Two former orphans, orphaned once again.

And thus began a chain of, what Hunter deemed, a series of unfortunate events over the next seven years. Blake chided him from time to time, reasoning that things hadn't been all bad. Hunter couldn't exactly agree, but he also couldn't deny that tiny prick of pride that sparked within him. If Blake didn't think things were terrible, then at least Hunter had done one thing right in his lifetime: Raise Blake.

Now, here they were, putting their lives in the hands of yet another host of people who Blake claimed were trustworthy. Hunter wouldn't necessarily put _that _label on the Winds just yet, but then again, _he_ was the one who led them into Lothor's web of lies. And look where _that _got them.

Yeah. Life wasn't fair. Hunter learned that the hard way. More than just once. And he wasn't really sure if trying one more time was really a fair trade for the pain he knew it would cause Blake if they were duped again. His brother actually _liked _the Winds.

The Crimson Ranger sighed, forcing himself to close his eyes against his conflicting thoughts. This whole saving the world gig had better be worth it.


	2. Swing

**Tip the Scale Chapter 02: Swing **

******Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the Rangers and I don't own the song 'Swing' - Saban and Taking Back Sunday own them respectively.******  
**

**Author's Note:** I know. I'm sorry. I'm SO sorry. I went through some stuff and I just about gave up on this story, but after the events in Boston (where I am from - everyone I know is safe!), I decided that I needed to power through this major, major writer's block I'd been having. My life is a bit chaotic still so I can't constantly update as much as I'd like to, but I'm going to try and not leave you guys hanging for months at a time. In fact, I'm halfway done with Chapter 3! **  
**

This takes place during _Boxing Bop-a-Roo _- enjoy!

* * *

Motocross was Dustin's first and best love. It was probably what tipped Sensei off to his whole "one with the Earth" thing. There was nothing more comforting to the brunette than flying through the dirt on his bike; in fact, the muddier he was, the better of a run it had been. So when Dustin found himself explaining to Shane - again - what exactly he'd done wrong on the last try, only to find that Shane hadn't even been listening, Dustin couldn't help but feel annoyed. Here he was, trying to pass on his eternal wisdom on everything dirt-bike and Shane was totally brushing him off! Did it _seem _like he had all day to waste?

Apparently.

Dustin was about to relay all the things he could be doing instead of helping Shane out - going for a ride was on the top of that list, especially since he hadn't been riding in two days and Dustin was starting to feel the itch. He also had homework to do and although it was less important to him, he was pretty sure his mom had a different idea. But, honestly, when was Dustin going to use _algebra_ again in his life? He was a freakin' ninja! But he couldn't tell his parents or his teachers that.

Unfortunately for Dustin, before he could even begin his rant, Shane growled, "All I want to do is beat Hunter."

Dustin snorted at that notion. Shane _must _have gotten stoned or something before he came to the track today. Beat Hunter Bradley in a motocross race?

"Dude, have you _seen_ him ride?" Dustin honestly wanted to know. "He's like...one step below factory level!" What world did Shane live in if he thought he could beat Hunter? Everyone who knew anything about riding knew that Hunter and Blake were the best 250 riders out there. _Everyone_ knew.

"Yeah, yeah." Shane rolled his eyes as he put Dustin's helmet on. "Here goes!"

Dustin resisted the urge to cover his eyes with his hands. Shane had never been great at motocross. And by that, Dustin meant that Shane was _terrible _at the sport. He'd never got more than two hundred feet before...

Yeah. _That_.

"Dude!" Dustin whined, running over to the Red Ranger to make sure that both him and, more importantly, his bike were okay. He was seriously ticked off. That was his racing bike - his baby.

"Sorry." Shane murmured sheepishly.

Dustin just sighed. Well, there went his riding plans for the afternoon; he'd have to replace the top end. Shane completely busted it.

He rolled his eyes, picking the bike off the ground and turned to Shane, "Yeah, man. You're _really _gonna beat Hunter with moves like that." He grinned half-heartedly to show Shane that he wasn't actually that mad. Even if he kind of was.

Shane groaned, "But I _have _to, dude."

"How exactly do you plan on doing that? Let me repeat myself: Have you _seen_ the dude ride? He's like...one of the top ten 250 riders on this side of California and that's when he's _not _trying to ride someone into the dirt." Dustin shook his head, rolling the damaged bike towards the trailer, "Maybe you guys should just like...be on a team, dude. It's not like Hunter can skate."

Dustin felt like he was saying this for the millionth time. He really didn't get this rivalry at all.

When Shane just scoffed at the notion of pairing up with Hunter, Dustin simply shook his head and announced he was taking the bike back to Storm Chargers.

And they thought _he _was the airhead.

Dustin carefully rolled his bike into the back of Storm Chargers, waving a quick hello to the Bradleys and Kelly, and propped it up against a far wall, heaving a sigh at the mess Shane had made of it. He shook his head and got to work. He needed to make sure his bike was in perfect working order so that he could practice for the 125 race over the weekend. Kelly was going to kill him if he wasn't ready. The Bradleys would be. They always were. They were motocross _machines_.

"Mental note: _Never _let Shane use my race bike to "practice" on." Dustin muttered to himself, scrunching up his nose as he pulled the damaged top end off of his bike with an unflattering crunching sound.

"Shane did that?" Blake's voice startled Dustin, causing the brunette to drop the wrench in his hand with _clang_.

"Dude!" Dustin groaned, reaching over to pick the fallen tool up, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Blake chuckled, shrugging, "Sorry man. You're supposed to have your ninja guard up at all times anyway, you know." He lightly admonished, not really meaning it at all. Dustin knew what he was doing, despite the not-so-smart things the Yellow Ranger spouted at times.

Dustin rolled his eyes, tossing the rag in his hand at Blake's head, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Shane busted this on the track and now I have to fix it by myself just because _he's _all pissy about Hunter's existence."

Dustin wasn't one to pout, but he was incredibly close to pouting now. This whole rivalry was incredibly stupid, if anyone asked Dustin about it. But no one did, so he kept his mouth shut and dealt with the aftermath of his best friend's idiotic ideas. After all, Shane would do the same for him. At least, Dustin liked to think so.

"Yeah, you think Shane's bad? Hunter's been brooding about one hundred percent more than normal lately and honestly, bro? I didn't even think that was possible!" Blake complained, handing Dustin the tool he was looking for. "He completely busted a skateboard from the shop yesterday and he's been going too hard at training or _something_, man. He's just in a terrible mood. All the time. And if you guys thought normal Hunter was bad, you seriously don't want to see intensely mad Hunter."

"Glad I don't live in your house." Dustin commented with a smirk, ducking as Blake threw the rag back at him.

The bell over the front door of the store rang and Dustin instinctively looked up, spotting Hunter over Blake's shoulder. Dustin raised an eyebrow and quickly turned back to his bike. If looks could kill, Dustin was pretty sure that everyone in Storm Chargers would be dead.

Blake was definitely not kidding about his brother and Dustin was _definitely _not jealous of Blake having to live with the dude.

"Blake." Hunter said with not even an ounce of amusement in his voice.

Blake flinched and slowly turned around, "Hey bro!" The false cheer was evident in his voice, "What's going on?"

"Don't you have homework to do if you're not going to help me with this?" Hunter deadpanned, gesturing to the new shipment of gloves he was currently transporting from the loading dock into the back room of the store.

"I was just..." Blake trailed off when he saw the look on his brother's face and quickly changed his mind, "...going to grab a couple boxes now!" And without another word, the Navy Ranger quickly ran out of Storm Chargers.

* * *

Hunter was not having a good week. In fact, he was pretty convinced that this was one of the worst weeks he'd had since finding out that Lothor had lied to him about his parents' deaths. He was exhausted, aching and incredibly angry about _everything_. His element was getting the best of him and it was only Wednesday.

Working full time was a great idea in theory, but Hunter had conveniently forgotten to factor in Ninja training and practice time for motocross. And then there was this Total Trek _bullshit_ with Shane. The Red Ranger had been the number one source of Hunter's anger all week. It seemed that Shane knew exactly which buttons to press at all the right times to rile Hunter up the most. His muscles were screaming in pain from the abuse Hunter had dealt. He hadn't meant to overdo it at Ninja training, but he couldn't stop the rage from bubbling in the pit of his stomach every single time Shane tried to outdo him. Hunter had a habit of funneling all of his rage into physical activity - it was probably why he was so good at motocross. And Shane pissing him off during Ninja training was no exception. Someone had to keep the presumptuous Red Ranger in line, and since no one else on the team was willing to challenge their_ fearless _leader, Hunter took the responsibility upon himself.

The Crimson Ranger couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what was wrong with the dude. From his stupid cut-off shirt (seriously, who the hell wore cut-off shirts anymore?) to his arrogance to just..._everything _about him - how exactly was Hunter supposed to work with this guy when he couldn't even have a civil conversation with him?

"What?" He snapped at Dustin, who was giving him an odd look as he slammed the box of gloves down in front of the display not too far from where the Yellow Ranger was working on his bike.

Dustin raised his hands defensively, "Nothing, man. Just...what did the box ever do to you?"

Dustin inwardly flinched as soon as he'd spoken. The words had flown out of his mouth before he'd had a chance to apply his mental filter.

Hunter stared at Dustin for a long moment and Dustin tried to offer the older Ranger a small smile. Dustin did a quick peripheral scan of the store, noting that there were enough people around that there would be witnesses, should Hunter decide to strangle him in the middle of Storm Chargers. Why hadn't he just kept his mouth shut? Why didn't he just _not _look at Hunter in the first place?

Just as Dustin started pretending to look for a tool he was "missing," he heard the weirdest sound: Hunter chuckled.

He _chuckled_. Dustin didn't think he'd ever heard the Crimson Ranger make such a...a happy noise before. In fact, he was pretty sure that the only person who had ever heard Hunter come express any positive emotion was Blake - and from what he gathered, it wasn't even very often.

"Guess I'm just...stressed out." Hunter finally said, shrugging.

Dustin blinked.

Was Hunter...starting a conversation with him? Well, this was new. Dustin had imagined what having an actual conversation with the Crimson Ranger might have been like in the past and was never able to come up with anything positive. Hunter was, at the very least, not a people person and he made it well-known that he considered the rest of the Rangers to be inconveniences in his life so Dustin usually just steered clear - unlike Tori and Shane.

So now that Hunter was opening the door for conversation, Dustin was confused.

"I could tell."

_Shit_. When Dustin was confused, the filter that normally existed between his mouth and his brain - however small - went completely non-existent. He bit down on his lip, flinching a little bit. He was so _stupid _sometimes.

"Sorry." Hunter said, sounding completely unapologetic about it.

Still, Dustin was surprised. That was a word that the Earth Ninja had quickly learned was difficult for Hunter to say, whether or not he actually meant it. He must have looked surprised because Hunter laughed lightly.

"Shit's been rough." The older ninja offered with a shrug as he put the last of the gloves away. Hunter stood up, stretching his arms over his head. "What are you doing?"

It seemed like something Hunter would do, Dustin mused. To completely change the subject to talk about something else when the topic of conversation got too close to being about Hunter.

"Fixing this." Dustin deadpanned, the obvious _duh _in his voice as he gestured towards his still-broken bike.

Hunter rolled his eyes, "Smartass." He stepped over to where Dustin was fumbling with a particular part, letting out a low whistle when he saw the extent of the damage.

"Who's the asshole who did _that_? I know you're not dumb enough to completely blow the top end off your bike during _practice_."

Before he could stop himself, Dustin began to laugh.

Dustin shifted uncomfortably, focusing hard on fixing the specific part that he was looking at. He knew he wasn't very smart, but even he knew that what he'd say next wouldn't go over well with Hunter – especially given the mood he was already in.

"Dude, don't tell me _you _actually did this." Hunter scoffed when Dustin didn't reply.

Dustin rolled his eyes, slightly insulted that Hunter could believe he'd be that stupid, "Of course not, man." He wrinkled up his nose and heaved a sigh. "It was Shane, alright? Save the smartass comments please. I've gotten enough of it from him."

To say that both Hunter and Dustin weren't surprised would be…well, a lie. Dustin blinked. Hunter stared at Dustin.

Hunter was first to snap out of it.

"Hey, _he's _the one who busted your bike. Don't get your panties all up in a twist at _me_."

Dustin dropped his wrench and turned to face Hunter fully before the more rational part of him could stop himself.

"You know, I'm really, _really _sick of this…whatever it is between you and Shane. Can you guys, like, behave?"

Dustin wanted to smack himself the second those words were out of his mouth. What was he _doing_? From the way that Hunter was glowering at him, he had about three seconds to –

"Are you _fucking_ kidding me right now?"

Too late. Dustin winced inwardly. Hunter's rage was poorly concealed by his low tone of voice, but the brunette could see Hunter practically shaking from the fists up through his arms. It was taking every ounce of self-control, it seemed, for Hunter to _not _sucker-punch Dustin.

"He was the first Red on this team so you guys just do what he says. But he's being a little prick right now and all any of you can do is defend him. I _never _stood at chance and that's what I kept telling Blake. Nope. Little brother actually _likes_ you little shits, although I sure as hell have no idea why. No one has told me that they think Shane is being unreasonable or childish, but _I _am the one who gets shit from _all of you _because big, bad Hunter is hurting poor wittle Shane's goddamn _feelings_. Shane's your best friend, I get it man. But the way you follow him around like some goddamn lost puppy is _pathetic_, Dustin. Get a life."

Hunter glared at Dustin for another second before he shook his head, "I've got whatever punishment with Sensei." And without so much as a goodbye, Hunter spun on his heel and out of the store, slamming the door behind him with a loud _bang_ that caused the patrons in the store to look around curiously for its source.

Dustin must have stayed frozen in that position for a full minute.

There were a lot of thoughts swirling around in his head: confusion, guilt, anger and…was that _hurt_?

"Dustin!" Cam's urgent voice startled him out of his stupor. His ninja sense kicked in and Dustin swiftly turned into a hidden corner of the repair area, holding his morpher up to his lips.

"I-I'm here, sorry dude." He said, trying to sound as unperturbed as possible.

There was a suspicious pause – and yes, Dustin could feel Cam's skepticism. After all these years of dealing with the technician's exasperation made Dustin far more in tune with Cam's nonverbal communication methods than most. Whatever had caused Cam to contact Dustin must have been more important, though, because Cam didn't say anything.

"We need you." Was what he said instead.

"I'm on it." Dustin said, glancing around the store. He bit down on his lip and coughed, quickly coming up with a reason he needed to run out of the store.

"Kelly!" he called over to where she was, thankfully, distracted by a few customers. When she looked up, he grinned sheepishly, "I totally goofed. I forgot to get the…I gotta grab a part real quick." He said, halfway out the door already before Kelly could say a word.

"I've got to get better at that." He muttered to himself before he shook his head to clear his mind.

Duty was calling.


	3. Failure By Design

**Tip the Scale Chapter 03: Failure By Design**

******Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the Rangers and I don't own the song 'Failure By Design' - Saban and Brand New own them respectively.******  
**

**Author's Note:** See? I've been good. But no promises on how quickly I can get the next one up. Thanks to the new favorites that I got - I appreciate you :)

This takes place after the events of 'Pork Chopped.'

* * *

It had been two weeks since the Rangers had taken Boxing Bop-A-Roo down and one week since Hunter and Shane had won Total Trek – as a team. The two alpha males were not best friends by any stretch of the phrase; in fact, Blake wasn't even sure they could be considered friends. Still, they had taken their rivalry down a notch and had proven in training several times over by now that they'd learned to work together. And Blake would take whatever he could get at this point.

He was a bit worried about Hunter to say the least.

If he was being totally honest with himself, he was a lot worried. He was making himself crazy with worry.

His brother was not a social person. In fact, Hunter made socializing seem like a chore. Blake very carefully monitored Hunter whenever he could, which wasn't very often considering the older Thunder made him go to school every morning and got on his case about _homework_ of all things every night.

Blake rolled his eyes at the thought, eyes flickering over to Hunter's "room."

Blake didn't like that Hunter insisted on always taking the shittier end of the stick. Just because he was older didn't mean that Blake couldn't take care of him too. But reasoning with a protective big brother was like trying to reason with a Mama Grizzly. You couldn't.

Still, brotherly instinct told him that something wasn't 100% right with Hunter. Whenever they were home at the same time – which was usually only to sleep – Hunter was very closed off, holed away in his sectioned off corner of the living room that he pretended was a real bedroom. Blake had tried to engage him in conversation as much as he could, but was always waved away with a tired, "Finish your homework," or, "Don't you have a girlfriend to bother?"

Blake frowned to himself, listening closely and hearing the shuffling of papers behind the crimson curtain. He knew from the beginning that Hunter would have trouble getting settled in Blue Bay because Hunter had trouble getting settled anywhere. He just didn't think it was going to be _this _hard. When he and Shane had agreed to be on a Total Trek team together, Blake thought it was a major breakthrough.

Apparently not.

After the Trek, the two were civil to each other, yes, but Hunter still never wanted to hang out with the Winds outside of training. In fact, Blake was pretty sure that all Hunter did was train and work.

"Hunter?" Blake called out softly, standing just outside of Hunter's curtain partition. He was going to say something. He was going to get to the bottom of this. Now.

A blond mop of hair poked out into the living room through the curtain and Hunter tiredly gave Blake a smile, "What's up?"

Blake studied his brother for a long moment, trying to force something along the lines of, "What the hell is wrong with you lately?" out of his mouth.

Instead, he saw the bags under Hunter's eyes, the way his brother's smile was forced, and the obvious exhaustion seeping through each and every one of Hunter's pores.

With a defeated smile, Blake just shrugged, "Nothing. Just wanted to say good night. Don't stay up too late." He half-heartedly warned before he quickly ducked back into his bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind him.

What was happening to them? Why did Hunter feel like he was drifting farther away? Blake flopped down on his bed and squeezed his eyes shut.

Maybe he'd be able to talk to Hunter tomorrow.

Tomorrow came too soon – for both of the Thunder brothers. Before they knew it, Blake's alarm clock was shrilly ringing, startling both brothers out of their sleep. After a just-barely-satisfying meal of toast (that Hunter may or may not have stolen from the pantry at Ninja Ops) and orange juice, Hunter practically shoved Blake out the door to get him to school on time. If there was one thing the Crimson Ranger was intent on, it was that Blake finish high school.

"Hey Hunter." Kelly grinned at him, sticking her head around the door to her office some time around 4pm, holding a white envelope out to him. "Here's your paycheck."

Hunter took the check from Kelly, waving at her with a quick thank you before settling back down behind the counter, pretending to continue organizing the register until he heard the distinct click of Kelly's door shutting. With slightly shaky hands, Hunter carefully ripped open the envelope with his name neatly typed across it. His eyes quickly scanned the numbers and…well.

Doing quick math in his head, Hunter worked out how much he would get each month and compared it to what they would need for the electric bill as well as money they would need for food. Of the meager amount that would be left over, Hunter decided that he would ration out half to Blake for take-Tori-on-a-date money (because, really, what else would he do with it?) and then save the rest for when they would need to start paying rent again. It wasn't much - in fact, it was just barely enough for the brothers to get by. But Hunter was used to dealing with the cards he was dealt.

"Better than nothing." Hunter sighed, quickly pocketing the check as the bell above the door rang, signaling a new customer.

At this point, Hunter thought to himself as he greeted the customer in his typical monotone, he'd take what he could get. And, it seemed, this was all he was going to get for now. Maybe he and Blake would win some races over the weekend for more pocket money.

But it wasn't as though they had a lot of time to practice, what with Ninja training and Lothor. The dude seemed know exactly the most inconvenient times to send one of his ugly creations down. Hunter was still finding popcorn in weird places days after the whole fiasco with the smarmy General what's-his-face.

It wasn't until after Hunter had rung that customer up and did a quick check around the store to ensure that nothing was out of place that he finally took the liberty to sit down on the couch in the Storm Chargers alcove. The check in his back pocket suddenly felt like it weighed a ton and nothing at the same time. He gingerly took it out and stared at the black numbers written on the check, almost like a taunt.

_Ha! You want more, but you're just stuck with us_, they seemed to be saying.

If he was being honest with himself - which wasn't very often - Hunter knew that sustaining this kind of lifestyle wasn't going to last. Between working cashier, working the stock shifts, training on the track, and then somehow making it to Ninja training all before it was time for dinner and bed, he didn't know if he'd make it to the end of the month let alone indefinitely. But what else could he do? He had a younger brother to finish raising and an evil space Ninja to destroy before the guy destroyed Earth.

He knew what Blake would say if he knew that Hunter was pulling a double shift everyday. He could practically hear his brother's exasperated voice in his head.

"Ask for help, bro."

Ask who, though? There was no way in hell Hunter was letting Blake drop out of school to help him. He already contributed some of his paycheck to help out, as well as his racing winnings. Everything else went towards maintaining their bikes - which they needed to stay in tip top shape because it wasn't just another way for them to get cash; it was also their means of transportation for the time being.

The Winds were all in high school themselves. Hunter couldn't imagine that any of their parents would take to having two _more _teenagers in the house constantly and, frankly, the thought of living with Shane or Dustin (because they were _not _living with Blake's girlfriend) made Hunter feel a bit sick.

"Hunter, up front!" Kelly shouted to him.

Sighing, Hunter pocketed the check and squeezed his eyes shut. He wasn't sure what they were going to do. But he'd figure it out, he told himself. He always did.

* * *

"Dude!" It was hours later when Dustin's voice startled Hunter, causing him to elbow a few boxes that were teetering on the ladder waiting to be put away.

The boxes tumbled to the floor with an unceremonious _thud_. Hunter rolled his eyes, turning around to look at the younger Ranger.

"Really, Dustin?" Hunter gritted out through his teeth, mentally counting to ten the way Blake suggested a few days prior when it came to dealing with the group's airhead.

Dustin gave Hunter a sheepish grin and shrugged, reaching over to help Hunter shuffle the boxes and get them in the right place.

"Sorry, man. Hey, where were you at the track today? Blake was worried."

_Shit_.

He _knew _he was forgetting something when he agreed to help Kelly with some shipments that came in earlier than expected.

It must have shown on his face because Dustin clapped him on the back.

"Hey man, no sweat. I raced him a few times instead. Totally whooped my ass, bro." Dustin shook his head with a grin, "He's still gloating about it to Tori."

Hunter couldn't help the snort that came out – which really was _not _a cover up for the laugh he had to suppress. Because Dustin was _annoying _not _funny_.

Clearly, Dustin didn't think anything of Hunter's silence and continued on, reaching over to help Hunter sort through the stack of riding pants on the table.

"Dude, when is Blake going to just _ask _her on a date already? Like, is he totally blind? They're already obsessed with each other." Dustin huffed, "And they think _I'm _the dense one."

"You think I haven't tried to tell him this a million times already?" Hunter said before he could stop himself. And no, that was _not _a chuckle either.

Dustin grinned, reaching over the Crimson Ranger to set down the stack of Size Small pants, "Dude, I _told _Tori that Blake totally likes her. She was not believing me though. She actually said, 'What do you know, Dustin?'. Can you believe that?"

Hunter raised an eyebrow, bumping his shoulder against Dustin's, "Actually…I can, bro." he grinned and then ducked before Dustin's half-hearted punch could hit him.

"Hey man, you don't go to school anymore…you have no idea the game I can spit." Dustin said with mock bravado.

Hunter couldn't help but burst out laughing at this, which earned him an amused and surprised look from Dustin. It was the first time that Hunter seemed to have his guard down around anyone but Blake.

Dustin wasn't sure what kind of alternate universe he'd landed himself in - was Lothor lurking around nearby and causing this totally weird interaction to occur to play a mind trick on him? - but he couldn't help but grin too, shrugging at the Crimson Ranger's dubious look. For some reason, making Hunter laugh made Dustin smile. Maybe, Dustin decided, the guy wasn't so bad after all. He just needed some serious loosening up before he became...well, _likeable_.

"Dustin!" Kelly's relieved voice broke through the door, "There you are. Did you forget that Nelson's coming to pick his bike up today? Is it done?"

Dustin's face went from jovial, to confused, to absolutely stricken within thirty seconds and Hunter couldn't help but raise an amused eyebrow when the brunette turned to him, wide-eyed.

He dropped the pair of riding pants he'd been folding into Hunter's hands and whispered in his usual exaggerated manner, "Oh _dude_."

Dustin turned back to Kelly with an apologetic look so closely resembling a puppy that even Kelly's exasperation started to fade, "Kel, I'm _so _sorry. It's almost done, seriously. I just totally forgot today was the day. I'm on it. He won't even know the difference – promise, Kel!"

He was calling out over his shoulder now, quickly making his way to the forgotten bike.

Kelly sighed, shaking her head as she looked over at Hunter, throwing her hands up in the air, "That boy…" she muttered as she spun on her heel and left the storage room.

Hunter couldn't help but chuckle as he turned back to the table. Typical Dustin.

He couldn't explain why it was so easy to talk to the Yellow Ranger - couldn't really wrap his head around why he let his guard down around someone he _really _didn't like. _Really_. The blonde resolved to just push it to the back of his mind and not dwell on it too much. He had way too many other things to think about anyway. Unfortunately for Hunter, Blake had made his way to the storage room just in time to catch the tail end of the conversation.

"Whoa, don't look now, but Hunter made a friend."

The Crimson Ranger whirled around to see his younger brother leaning against the doorway with a smirk on his face.

Hunter rolled his eyes, "What are you talking about?"

"Oooh…He's in denial, ladies and gentlemen." Blake said with a scoff, making his way over to Hunter to help with the sorting of the pants. "Face it, bro. You actually like him."

"Like is a strong word." Hunter muttered.

Blake laughed, which just made Hunter wince, before he slapped his brother on the back, "It's not a crime to like your friends, Hunt."

Hunter shrugged Blake's hand off of his shoulder, rolling his eyes.

"Seriously?" Blake threw up his hands, snatching a pair of pants off the table and beginning to fold them onto hangers, "Are you really resisting it that much? C'mon, bro. Talk to me."

"There's nothing to _talk _about." Hunter replied gruffly.

Blake sighed. Hunter was in one of _those _moods.

"Look," the younger Thunder brother began gently, making sure he wasn't looking at Hunter. It was easier to talk to him when there was no eye contact. Blake chalked it up to Hunter's severe emotional stunting when he was with his birth parents. "You said it yourself a few weeks ago. We're going to stick around for awhile. Lothor isn't exactly your everyday evil space Ninja, you know? So...like...can you just _try _to make friends? I'm not saying you have to tell them shit - you don't. It just...you worry me, bro."

There was a long silence.

Then a resigned sigh.

"Just don't expect me to be all buddy-buddy with Shane next."

With that, Hunter swiftly took the box of previously folded t-shirts to stock in the main store as Blake grinned at his back.

Maybe there was hope for Hunter after all.


End file.
